BBC Radio 2 has been named station of the year at the annual Radio Academy awards, which also gave a special prize to LBC's Call Clegg phone-in with the deputy prime minister.

Radio 2, which has been transformed over the past decade and a half and now has more than 15 million listeners a week, took home the UK station of the year award for the first time since 2005 at Monday night's ceremony in London.

But its breakfast presenter, Chris Evans – the former enfant terrible who has become the nation's most listened-to DJ, and who also hosted the awards – missed out.

Evans, who has nearly 10 million listeners, was beaten to the music radio personality prize by Sam Pinkham and Amy Voce – breakfast presenters on local Nottingham station, Gem 106.

The judges said Radio 2, which was shortlisted with Radio 4 and commercial broadcaster TalkSport for the night's main prize, was a station "at the top of its game".

"From breakfast to overnight, from daytime to specialist, it has an editorial range and depth which is remarkable, and a reach which is unsurpassed," they said.

Radio 4 won five gold awards – more than any other station – including best news and current affairs programme for PM, the afternoon news show whose presenter Eddie Mair – a contender to succeed Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight – was a winner last year. Judges said it "never rests on its laurels" and praised Mair's "brilliant" interviews.

Radio 1, which is undergoing an overhaul of its own as it attempts to reach a younger audience, won three awards including golds for afternoon DJ Greg James and specialist presenter Zane Lowe.

Commercial talk station LBC won the night's special award for Call Clegg, featuring presenter Nick Ferrari with the deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, and its spin-off Ask Boris, with London mayor Boris Johnson. It was one of three prizes for LBC, which went nationwide earlier this year.

Digital-only stations such as BBC 6 Music missed out, failing to win a single top prize at the awards, which were known as the Sonys until the sponsor's withdrawal last year.

The BBC World Service won the live event prize for its coverage of the death of Nelson Mandela, which judges said "told the story better to its worldwide audience than TV could".

Radio 5 Live presenter Danny Baker won for the fourth successive year with the speech radio personality prize for his irreverent Saturday morning show.

It was one of three awards for 5 Live, home of speech radio broadcaster of the year Victoria Derbyshire, who judges said delivered "compelling interviews tackling subjects others barely touch on".

Commercial radio winners included Frank Skinner, who won the best speech programme prize for his Saturday show on Absolute Radio – "brilliantly entertaining radio from the events of everyday life" – and Dave Berry and Lisa Snowdon's breakfast programme on Capital.

Radio 2 presenter Tony Blackburn won the prestigious gold award at the ceremony at London's Grosvenor House hotel, and there was a first award for his Radio 2 colleague Jamie Cullum, the singer-songwriter turned broadcaster, who won best music programme for his weekly jazz show.

Full list of the winners

Best Community Programming Gold: Slavery on our Streets – LBC 97.3

Best News Feature or Documentary Gold: Tempted by Teacher – markthree media for BBC Radio 1

Best News & Current Affairs Programme Gold: PM – BBC Radio 4

Best Speech Programme Gold: The Frank Skinner Show – Avalon for Absolute Radio

Best Coverage of a Live Event Gold: The Death of Nelson Mandela – BBC World Service News and BBC Africa Service for BBC World Service